Day: 7 January 2015

adult's clothing, DCF Challenge, Pattern Fantastique, sewing

Three birds with one stone

Three birds in one:

* my third Aeolian (the first dress)

* my first make for Jungle January

* my Summer DCF Seasonal Challenge garment!

Pattern Fantastique Aeolian dress in linen from Darn Cheap Fabrics

Emma and I started our Darn Cheap Fabrics seasonal challenge in Spring, and here we are already with our Summer efforts! We chose this fabric together when Emma was down from Sydney just before Christmas. I knew exactly what I wanted to make from it!

Pattern Fantastique Aeolian dress in linen from Darn Cheap Fabrics

This is a fairly stiff medium weight linen, so it really plays with the sculptural shapes of the pattern. Although the Aeolian Tee/Dress was designed for knits, it appears to work quite nicely in wovens as well, although with a different silhouette. I sewed up size Medium, cut to the knee length dress, but took a six inch hem.

Pattern Fantastique Aeolian dress in linen from Darn Cheap Fabrics

Because I was using a woven rather than a knit, I finished the neckline with bias binding (home made from stash) sewn to the right side then turned to the inside and stitched into place. I also turned a narrow hem along the back facing before topstitching it down.  There’s not much more to say about this that I haven’t said already (or that Anna hasn’t said – her linen Aeolian is here) – and construction was very fast and straightforward.  I wore it to work today in Melbourne’s heat/humidity/storms, and it was wonderful.  Loose, boxy, yet it feels modern and stylish.  I keep on thinking of other fabrics that I could make it in – stretch lace, merino knits for winter, soft drapey knits, maybe add piping to the raglan seam lines – the list in my mind goes on and on!

Pattern Fantastique Aeolian dress in linen from Darn Cheap Fabrics

So, have you spotted all the elements that make this dress a perfect candidate for Jungle January? What can you see in the print?

Now I need to head on over to Emma’s blog and find out what her fabric became! Hooray!

Pattern Fantastique Aeolian dress in linen from Darn Cheap Fabrics

by thornberry
children's clothing, sewing

Simplicity 1625 top

Last night I spent three and a half hours sewing a McCalls dress for Clare.  Half way through I discovered that it would need to be lined, as it was so sheer.  Then when I tried it on her the armholes were ridiculously low.  I will need to remove and recut the neckband, take the dress in at the armholes, and lift the entire dress to make the armholes smaller when I reattach the neckband.  If she didn’t like the dress so much I would have tossed it into the bin.  I was really wishing that instead of trying a new pattern, I had just used an Oliver + S pattern or else re-used Simplicity 1625.  Remember the dress I made Clare from Simplicity 1625? Each time it is washed she puts it back on again.  Apparently it is casual, but not too casual.  Somewhere between Christmas and New Year I gave the pattern another go and made a simple top.

Simplicity 1625 sleeveless view C in cotton jersey from Darn Cheap Fabrics

Due to fabric restrictions, I made a sleeveless version of view C. It’s a simple top with a flared shape, but a terrific back feature.

Simplicity 1625 sleeveless view C in cotton jersey from Darn Cheap Fabrics

Actually, when Clare hasn’t been wearing the 1625 dress, she’s been wearing this top! I used size 8, and cut strips of fabric to use like bias binding to finish the neckline and armholes. They were simply sewn to the right side of the fabric, then turned to the inside and stitched in place. The fabric is a cotton jersey remnant from Darn Cheap Fabrics. It’s rather fun!  There are lots of weird pictures in that print.

I sewed size 8, and it’s a nice fit for her. Clare turns twelve tomorrow, and I can scarcely believe it. What a phenomenal twelve years. I am truly blessed that she is my daughter. We have a lovely mother/daughter day planned that will include buying her high school uniform then going to the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition and having lunch out in the city. We are both SO looking forward to it! My husband and Stella are going to spend a day together too, but they’ll be going to the local pool. For some reason they declined a day at the gallery!

Simplicity 1625 sleeveless view C in cotton jersey from Darn Cheap Fabrics

Looks like I’ll be doing a whole lot of unpicking (actually, I might get the scissors out and just CUT off the neck band) and resewing this evening to fix the other dress. And to add insult to injury, at morning tea today I found myself unpulling my latest crochet project from row 13 back to row 5 because I discovered an earlier error. My crafting doesn’t always run smoothly!

by thornberry